hellmouth battle
by Supernatural-Lover
Summary: buffy has to go into the hellmouth to save spike, who she just realized she is in love with
1. Buffy's dream and the torture of a vamp

Buffy dreamed:  
  
Shadows shifted. They whispered, fearful of being overheard. Chains rattled on a floor that was covered in dirty straw. And then she saw him. With both hands chained to the wall, Spike was sleeping. His electric blonde hair seemed longer. It brushed his ears and forehead. Bruises covered his face. Nothing remained of his black shirt but tatters, and through the strips of fabric she saw burns, probably from holy water. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked strait at her. Then he screamed. "Buffy!"  
  
Suddenly, buffy awoke, covered in a cold sweat, the dream still vivid in her mind. Spike was in trouble. She could feel it. Everything inside of her was screaming at her to help him. Taking several deep breaths, she got out of bed and glanced at the clock. It was 2 in the morning. She quickly reached into her closet and put on her workout clothes. Then she crossed to her desk and pulled out 2 stakes, which she stuck in her waistband, a bottle of holy water for her pocket, and also a spiked mace. The weight of it felt good in her hand.  
  
Not wanting to wake Willow, Dawn or Giles, Buffy still used the window to get out at night. Tonight was no exception. She climbed out and ran to the cemetery where Spike lived. As she ran, she told herself that he would be there. That he would laugh when she told him about her dream. That he would hold her and tell her he loved her. Even though Buffy didn't show it, she cared for Spike. A lot.  
  
Finally, she reached Spike's crypt. The door was open. She approached it cautiously, sensing danger in the darkness around her. Buffy stepped inside and smelled the familiar scent of Spike's beer. His television was on, casting faint light on the ground. "Spike?" she called. There was no answer. He wasn't there. Buffy began to panic. It took a great effort to calm herself down. "He's just out for a walk." She told herself. "Or maybe he went to the butchers for fresh blood." As she was assuring herself with excuses, a crunch sounded from behind her. Slowly, Buffy pulled a stake into her right hand, and held the mace in her left. She glanced around her, but the light from the t.v. didn't go far.  
  
Suddenly, someone rushed her from behind. Grabbing her in a choke-hold, it knocked the stake from her hand and it clattered to the floor. Buffy snapped her head backwards into the things face, and it let go of her with a howl. Turning, she brought the mace up and swung it on its chain to collide with her opponent's head. It stumbled backward. Gaining the upper hand, Buffy gave it a sharp kick to the kidneys and ducked its sloppy punches. Grabbing her second stake, she shoved it up against the wall.  
  
"Who the hell are you and where is Spike?" Buffy asked menacingly. "I will tell you nothing, slayer." It growled through bared fangs. "You know I'm the slayer. Great. Then you also know that I have very little patience with the pointy undead." The vampire said nothing, but grunted as Buffy pushed her stake against its skin. "I'm waiting" Buffy shoved the stake into its shoulder, and it howled. "Okay, I'll tell you, just stop." Buffy pulled out the stake and put it above the vampire's heart. "Do-Not-Lie" she hissed through clenched teeth. "We came during the day and took spike through the tunnels. He's pissed off a lot of demons, running with a slayer." Buffy was not amused. "I know you took him, idiot! I want to know where." Buffy gripped her bottle of holy water and tossed drops of it onto his face. The vampire squirmed, but didn't cry out. "We took him into the Hellmouth." At this, Buffy froze. Of all the things she'd seen, she'd never seen the Hellmouth. All they knew about it was that it was in the basement of the new high school.  
  
The vampire tensed as if to bolt, and Buffy shoved him hard. "Who are you working for and what does he want?" "My master is De Vincint. He wants you and spike dead. And we will dance on your graves." At this, Buffy grew tired of the drama and staked the vampire. It's dust swirled around her and settled on her clothes. She walked to the door of the crypt in shock. She had lost Angel and Riley, but she would not lose Spike. Buffy promised herself that if she could save him, she would tell him that she loved him. Because she did. 


	2. Spike's prison

Spike had dreamed about Buffy. She was in his crypt, looking for him. She'd gotten into a fight with some vamp and questioned him about something. He couldn't remember what. He never remembered dreams well. Bloody stupid, they were. They never told you anything, just put thoughts in your head that could drive a bloke insane. But, dreaming was better than awake in his prison. Something wanted him dead. That much, Spike new. You didn't come uninvited into someone's crypt and carry them off to bloody never-never land unless you had a problem with them. The whole chain thing was a dead giveaway. Of course, he and Buffy had had some fun with chains once... He could see her in his mind's eye, shimmering like an angel. God, he loved her. For a minute, he allowed himself to dwell on her sweet smile, the way her eyes got wide when she was mad, the way she moaned in her sleep, and then he was knocked unconscious and began to dream again. 


	3. Buffy heads home

Buffy ran back to her house in a daze. It was light enough to see now, although she suspected that Dawn would still be in bed since there was no school. She hoped that Giles was awake. He was her dependable British man, her watcher. Unofficially now, but she still though of him that way. As she opened the front door, she heard someone clatter down the stairs and turned to see Dawn standing in front of her. "What are you doing up, Dawnie?" she asked softly. "I couldn't sleep and you were gone." Dawn looked at her sister questioningly. "I had some slayage to take care of." Buffy said quickly. "Is Giles awake?" "Yeah, he's in the kitchen." Dawn replied. "Since you're here, I'm going back to bed." Buffy watched her sister go back upstairs and then went into the kitchen. Giles was sitting on a stool by the counter, sipping tea. Without any small talk, Buffy walked up to him and said, "Spike was kidnapped and taken down into the hellmouth. We have to get him out." Giles looked up, startled, and put down his tea. He frowned. "Buffy, how do you know this?" "I had a dream. It was on the freaky side, so I went to check on him and a vamp there told me." "Told you?" He asked slowly. "Okay, I had to beat it out of him." She clarified. "There's this vampire named De Vincint who wants me and Spike dead. I'm guessing that's why he took him." Giles started to clean his glasses, like he always did when he was thinking about something. "I suppose you know that this is probably a trap." Buffy glowered. "I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid." Giles looked uncomfortable and seemed to be trying to find the right words for something. "Buffy, are you sure that Spike is worth saving?" Buffy said nothing for a long time, and finally walked upstairs to take a shower. As she stood under the hot water, she saw all of the cuts and bruises that she'd gotten from various fights that week. If she had to die to save Spike, she would do it. 


	4. suit up and off to the rescue

After Buffy had dried off and put on clean jeans and a t-shirt, she walked downstairs to meet with Giles and have breakfast. She found him on the living room sofa, reading a dusty book. He looked up as she came in. "What do we know?" She asked crisply. "De Vincint is incredibly old, at least 600 years older than Spike. He's a vampire lord from an alternate dimension who has a, well, a history of sorts with slayers." Giles stopped and looked at her. "What history with slayers?" Buffy asked, not sure she wanted to know. "He kills them." Giles went on without looking at her. "He tortures them with dreams, nightmares and visions until their worst fear kills them. Once they die in their visions, they die in real life. Afterwards, he collects their blood." "Collects?" buffy asked, "Like in a glass to drink because he's too refined to use his teeth?" "Not at all." Giles looked up at her. "Like a collection of baseball cards or classic cars. He shows it off, sometimes even selling it to the highest bidder." "So there's a black market in the dream world now? God this will get old fast." Buffy tried to hide the fact that she was worried, but didn't do a very good job. So many demons had tried to kill her, that she had lost count. The only thing that made this De Vincint any different was that Spike was in the middle. "Giles, can this vampire lord be killed?" "Hmm? Oh, yes, one could assume so." "Good. Let's get ready to rumble. And wake up Willow, we might need her help opening the Hellmouth. Something tells me that we're not gonna get an all-access pass." Giles nodded and went upstairs. Buffy walked up to her room and pulled out the weapons trunk that Xander had made for her. She took out 5 stakes, holy water, brass knuckles, an axe and crosses in her slayer gig bag. She headed downstairs and found Giles quietly informing Willow of the situation. Buffy left a vague note for Dawn, and threw her bag in the backseat of the Giles Mobile. As they started driving, she said, "Brace yourselves, guys. We're going back to high school." 


	5. As Giles drove

As Giles was driving, he kept his mouth firmly closed. Buffy was running half-cocked into a huge battle, but there was nothing he could do about it. His slayer had always been special, whether she realized it or not. She had died twice, and by some miracle that he didn't understand, Buffy still lived. She stood taller now than she ever had before. After her mother's death and the episode with Glory, Giles hadn't been sure if Buffy would ever be the same. Oh, she'd assured everyone that she was fine, but her eyes had held a vacant look. They'd all noticed. Now, Giles looked at Buffy and saw only a determined young woman who was stronger than any he had ever known. And he loved her for it. Not in the way he'd loved Jenny, of course. No one would ever replace his Jenny. But Giles loved her like a father loved his daughter. And it was like that with Buffy and Giles. It was a relationship that he was very thankful for. If not for Buffy, he would have given up long ago. That's why he stood with her now, why he was driving them towards death and mayhem. He knew this was important to Buffy, and he needed no further explanation. 


	6. Willow's capture

As Giles pulled into the teacher parking lot, Buffy looked up in awe at the new school. She'd only been here once, and that was to drop Dawn off for her first day. She'd been so anxious then that she hadn't really paid attention. The school was a building typical of California, with large windows that let in the sun, trees, fountains, and a slightly peach exterior paint. "Buffy," Willow said, "Come on." Buffy blinked and headed to the doors. "Sorry. It's just weird." Willow nodded. "Yeah, it is. But Spike is our priority." They reached the door handles, only to find that the school was locked up. Buffy looked at Giles with a raised eyebrow. He stared back at her. Pulling back her leg, Buffy snapped her foot at the two door's center, and they burst open. Willow moved forward. Before Buffy could stop her, a vampire reached out and yanked her into a nearby classroom, using one arm to lock the door behind him. Throwing Willow across the room, he shoved a couple of desks in front of the door. Buffy rammed against it with her shoulder, but it wouldn't open. Giles reached out and stopped Buffy from making another attempt. She looked up at him, and he pointed toward Willow. Buffy turned to see that her best friend's eyes were black, her fingers crackling with mystical energy. The vampire suddenly burst into flames and backed away from her, screeching. As Willow's eyes returned to their normal brown, it exploded into ashes. 


	7. preparation for battle

Willow calmly walked to the classroom door, brushing the vamp's dust off of her clothes. She moved the desks and unlocked it with a flick of her hand. "Let's go." She said softly. Without another word, they headed down the halls to the basement access. Buffy pulled a stake into her hand. Giles raised his crossbow and notched a wooden bolt into place. Willow clenched a cross with a sharpened end, and also had a bottle of holy water. Buffy looked at them with pride. She was the slayer, it was her duty to do this until she died. Her friends were here to help and in a way, she felt that made them far more heroic than she. "We don't want to get into a battle that we can't finish. Let's just get Spike and get out." Buffy said softly. "If you get into a situation and you have to run, find someplace to hide in the sun. We'll meet up as soon as we can." Willow nodded. "I suggest we go in quietly. We may yet have the element of surprise on our side." Giles said. "I agree." Willow shook her shoulders and shifted her feet. Buffy raised her head and met her best friend's eyes. Without saying anything, they prepared for battle. 


	8. the basement

Willow moved her eyes from Buffy's and stepped toward the basement door. The knob turned in her hands and she stepped down the wooden stairs that let to the storage area of the school, followed closely by Buffy and Giles. They stopped once they reached the concrete floor, and Willow turned on the lights with a whispered incantation. Dusty boxes, shelves and desks suddenly came into view, looming behind boilers and old copy machines. The basement was huge, almost as big as the school was, and the air seemed heavy and thick. Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. A wisp of green light flew from her fingertips and hovered near her face. Opening her eyes, Willow said "Take us to the Hellmouth." The light began to move forward and Willow followed it, motioning for Buffy and Giles to follow. The light led them between rows of standing chalkboards, and through a maze of old computers. It came to rest on a vacant part of the basement floor, bare except for a star painted in red. The light disappeared, and Willow prepared to open the Hellmouth. She could feel the magic swelling in her, pushing at her skin. And then, after a sudden pain, she felt nothing at all. 


	9. ambush

Buffy stared in horror as the demon knocked Willow unconscious. She fell towards the red star on the ground, and her head struck the concrete with a crack. Buffy registered her best friend's fall, but had no time to help her. The creature that had attacked Willow turned toward her, its eyes a bold red. 3 horns rose from various places on its head, and it seemed to be covered in large scales. Another demon of the same breed came up behind Giles. Buffy hoped that he could hold his own. The demon by Willow rushed her, and Buffy felt her muscles tighten. Flipping neatly over its head, she snapped a kick into its back that caused it to stumble. It recovered quickly and began to circle her, more cautious than before. Buffy took the opportunity and glanced at Giles. He was fairing well. His demon had a crossbow bolt through the stomach, but it was still standing. A hard punch collided with Buffy's head, and she rolled to the floor with a grunt. "That'll teach me to pay attention." She mumbled. The demon came at her again, fists whirring through the air. This time, Buffy ducked and came up behind him. She shoved her stake into it's back. To her surprise, no blood came to the surface. In fact, the demon looked completely unaffected. It whirled on her, knocking her backwards with a backhand to the face. She hit the floor hard, but managed to sweep her legs under the creature, and it joined her on the floor. She straddled it and began to pummel its face with her fists. Again, it seemed to have little effect. Buffy heard Giles cry out, and turned to see him on the floor, his hand over his abdomen, loss of blood turning his face pale. At that instant, the Buffy's attacker used her distraction to shove her up against a metal shelf. She twisted and flailed out with her arms, but she could not get free. The demon flung its fists into her face and stomach, connecting harshly every time. Buffy heard Giles cry out again, but she couldn't see him. "Giles!" She cried. Buffy struggled harder, but she was tired and the demon was covering her body in bruises. Suddenly, she heard a strange squishing noise. The demon's eyes widened slightly. It's mouth opened in surprise. Then it disinagrated before her eyes. Giles's demon did the same. Buffy turned to see Willow kneeling over Giles, her hands issuing a deep, blue light that spread over his body. It was obviously some kind of healing spell. She heard Giles groan, and ran over to him. She knelt beside Willow and put her arm around her best friend's back. As Willow turned to look at her, Buffy saw that her eyes were black, just like they had been upstairs. The she knew that somehow Willow had killed the two demons. She looked ragged, with several cuts in her hairline that had left blood trails down her face. Buffy wrenched her eyes away and focused on Giles. She slipped her hand under his head and cried. She had almost lost him. Her wonderful British man, the closest man to a father she'd ever had. After a few minutes, he began to sit up, and Buffy knew that he would be fine. She turned and hugged Willow as hard as her bruised body would allow. 


	10. Finding Spike

Once Buffy, Willow, and Giles had rested for a few minutes, they gathered around the red star. Buffy assumed a fighting stance, ready in case they were jumped again. Giles took a leathery volume out of his bag and handed it to Willow, who turned it to the exact page and began an incantation. The room filled with a rush of energy, and the points of the painted star rose and folded away, leaving a steep staircase that wound down into darkness. Buffy went first, expecting something to try and stop them. Giles followed his slayer, and Willow took up the rear, chanting a protection spell. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and the farther they went, the colder it got. The air seemed even thicker down here. Buffy thought that she was breathing in the evil, and felt a moment of panic. She fought it down and kept moving downward. Spike was there. She could feel him. The stairs suddenly ended and opened up to show an enormous cavern. A large pit took up most of the space on their side, and looking down, Buffy saw thousands of bones. Arranged into piles according to size, there were so many that a whole city's population could have been buried there and then forgotten. The friends continued to the opposite side of the cavern, pressing themselves against the walls, creeping silently toward an opening in the rock. Buffy motioned for them to wait, and went inside the crevice slowly. She stopped for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. She saw a row of cages, each containing a small animal. Buffy wished that she had enough time to free them, but she knew that she didn't. She kept going, her stake tight in her hand. Just as she was about to turn back, she heard a soft scrape of chains on rock. Buffy froze, he body tense as she waited for the sound to come again. Then, she heard someone call her name softly. She crept forward in the direction of the voice, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was Spike. He was chained up, and looked exactly as Buffy remembered him from her dream the night before. "Spike, are you okay?" She whispered. He nodded. "They took my bloody lighter. And the food is terrible." Despite their situation, Buffy smiled. She knelt next to Spike and broke the chains with her hands. He fell forward slightly and she caught him, running her hands over his bruised chest. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked at her with his electric eyes. She gently put her hand up to touch his face, and he moved his cheek into her palm. Their eye's never leaving the others, they kissed softly. Spike took a deep breath and stood up, rubbing his wrists. "We'd better get the hell out of here, love. These vamps aren't like your everyday night crawler." Buffy nodded. "Willow and Giles are waiting outside. Once we meet up with them, we'er outta here." 


	11. De Vincint

As Buffy and Spike made their way to the opening to meet Willow and Giles, Buffy sensed danger. It seemed almost tangible. She thought that she could feel it, rubbing against her, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. Brushing the feeling aside, she pushed Spike through the crevice before her. At his sharp intake of breath, she looked up. Willow and Giles were surrounded by vampires. They looked at Buffy helplessly. There were too many of them, even for the slayer. Buffy glanced at Spike, and he shook his head. Not even Spike could take on this many. 3 more vampires stepped from the darkness and herded Buffy and Spike to stand by the others. They stood together, waiting for something to happen. "Slayer. You come at last." A booming voice filled the cavern. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. Buffy summoned up her courage and said, "Yeah. I'm here. How about you show your ugly face so that I can kick it?" The being laughed. "You understand nothing. And yet, I will take great pleasure watching your visions bring." Suddenly, it appeared before Buffy. A tall man, with dark hair and blue eyes, De Vincint stared at the slayer. He nodded his head toward Spike. "I knew you'd come for him. You blood teems with passion for this vampire." Buffy said nothing. "You will tell me everything soon. And you friends will die listening to your screams." 


	12. spike loved buffy

Spike looked at Buffy. She held her head high and defiant, glaring at the vampire lord. He saw the way her supple muscles rippled under her skin. Her heart beat sang in his ears. God. Of all the girls in the world, he had to love the bloody slayer. De Vincint took a step towards Buffy, and Spike stood protectively in front of her. "Stand aside vampire." De Vincint said with a wave of his hand. Against his will, Spike felt himself moving to the side. He resisted, tightening his muscles in order to help her, but the effort was too great, and he looked at Giles. The watcher appeared to be trying to move also, but he could not.  
  
Spike couldn't see the witch, but he assumed that she was in the same fix. Buffy was on her own. 


	13. first visions

Buffy knew that De Vincint had used a spell of some kind to force Spike to back off, and she knew that she was alone. "Perhaps your friends would like to witness your visions as well. It will certainly add to my entertainment." De Vincint touched Buffy's face almost lovingly, and suddenly, Buffy felt herself being hurtled through time and space. She saw herself first becoming the vampire slayer, and being kicked out of school. She saw herself drowned by the master; shoving a sword through angel's stomach, and then him breaking up with her in the sewers. She saw herself fighting Faith; watching Riley fly away in a helicopter; her mother's dead and vacant eyes. She saw Dawns bloody wrist and her own gravestone. She saw herself claw out of that same grave; sleeping with Spike and fighting Willow. And then, she saw nothing. Buffy hung in a limbo of grey smoke. She had bi sense of direction; didn't know if she was up or down. But suddenly, she saw her mother's face sliding in front of her. And then, her hand connected viscously with Buffy's face. "You stupid girl! You were never good for anything! All you did was waste my life and get me killed before my time. But you'll be fixed. You'll get your punishment. And then you'll dance in the fires of hell. Pity it didn't happen sooner!" A single tear snaked down Buffy's face. "Mommy." She whispered. Then, so quickly she almost missed it, Joyce changed and took on Angelus' appearance. He leered at her for a minute, then stepped toward her through the grey mist. "So.you've gone and gotten yourself into trouble again. Thank god that my pesky soul isn't here, because I really wanna watch you burn. It's actually a lot better this way. Now I don't have to pretend that I love you, and you don't have to get all sappy every time you look at that stupid ring you got for your birthday." Reflexively, Buffy looked down at her hand. The ring Angel had given her sparkled, and she hadn't even realized that she was wearing it. She wanted to touch it, but she kept her hand down. Buffy looked up as Angelus shifted to take the form of Glory. Buffy blinked and rushed at her, screaming, flailing her fists and kicking out with every ounce of her strength, be she never touched the goddess. All of her attacks went straight through her. 


	14. Visions from Willow's pov

Willow could see that Buffy was in agony. Tears streaked down her face and her eyes were filled with hopelessness and terror. Willow tried to make her arms move, tried to make her mouth form the words to a spell, but she couldn't. The visions that plagued Buffy played across the walls, over and over, repeating until the words blurred in Willow's mind. Every second of Buffy's fight with Glory was shown with a shocking clarity, and every second Willow prayed that Buffy would come out of this alive. 


	15. De Vincint's defeat

As Buffy attacked the ghost of Glory, she realized that it was in vain. She was tired, and sad and wanted to quit. But she knew that she was the slayer, and that when she went down again, she wanted it to be while fighting. It was just like Willow had said not too long ago, "I know you Buffy. You're a warrior. You'll never give up." Of course Willow had been trying to kill them all then, but it was different now. Everything was different now. As Buffy tried to keep fighting, bringing up her hands to attack, she suddenly felt a strange, light feeling, like she was walking on air. A golden glow filled the grey. And then, Buffy saw Joyce again, walking towards her in a white dress. She enfolded her daughter in a hug that warmed Buffy all over. "Buffy," she said slowly, "I will always love you. You're strong and you know what to do." And in the confines of her mind, Buffy smiled. She formed a weapon. Her soul, her love, her strength, all the things that made her the slayer came together to form something more powerful than she had ever held before. She thrust up with it, breaking De Vincint's spell, and gained control of herself and her fears.  
  
As she became aware of the cavern again, Buffy's body went into overdrive. She whirled on De Vincint, slamming punches into his face. She heard a crack and hoped that it was his nose and not her fingers. He brought his knee up into her stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. He then kicked her in the head, snapping her head back viscously. Through the pain, Buffy flipped up and blocked his punches. She drew up her leg and kicked him in the stomach, and brought her elbow down on his back as he doubled over. She fumbled in her waist band for a stake, but drew it too late. De Vincint knocked it out of her hands and it rolled to the edge of the big pit. She broke his ribs with a side kick, and dove for the stake. De Vincint met her halfway, and rammed into her, throwing her off course and knocking them both over the edge. They rolled, slamming into one another and landed in a heap on the floor of the pit. Buffy jumped up and smashed a heel into his head. He groped for her blindly, but she jumped out of reach. Running to the biggest pile of bones she saw, Buffy hefted one in her hand and ran at the vampire lord again. She smashed the bone into his skull. He jammed a fist into her kidney, and she fell back wards. Breathing hard, she tried to get up, but he ran and jumped on top of her. "Well, Slayer, I guess I'll have to devour you the old fashioned way." Buffy grimaced, and she wrestled with him with one arm, while the other snaked behind her back, groping for a second stake. As he lowered his teeth to her neck, Buffy brought the stake up, and he exploded in dust, covering her in it and making her cough.  
  
In a daze, Buffy scrambled up the pit wall. Willow, Giles, and Spike were still fighting the other vampires. Buffy rushed to help them, seeing red and breathing dust. Soon, all of the vampires were dispatched, and the cavern returned to silence. 


	16. the beginning of happiness

Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Spike stumbled up the basement stairs and ran out of the school. Spike held his duster over himself and leapt into the backseat of Giles' car, which, thankfully, had the top up. Buffy sat in the back with him, holding his head in her lap. Willow and Giles sat wordlessly in front. As they drove, Buffy leaned down and whispered in Spike's ear. "I love you." He blinked and at her in surprise. Then he smiled. His hand traveled up her arm and neck, then cupped her cheek. He brought her mouth down to his for a passionate kiss, and Buffy curled her hands in his hair. Then they broke away and smiled at one another. Giles kept his eyes firmly on the road, and Willow hid a grin.  
  
Epilogue  
  
Buffy and Spike became a couple again, and it was known to everyone. Xander didn't approve, but he kept his mouth shut, and Buffy was grateful. Giles decided to stay for a while, and Dawn was glad to see her sister so happy. Every night, Spike held Buffy in his arms, and every night she loved him. 


End file.
